Of all the saves goalkeeper Marcus Norris has made in helping Carmel Valley Manchester reach the elite ranks of club soccer, his biggest was made off the field.

It came two years ago when the team was at a crossroads despite years of progress under coach Jeff Illingworth, an English native who formed his own club following two decades on the local scene. As happens in youth soccer, some Manchester players were defecting and others pondered following in the face of a diminishing roster.

The team, then entering the Under-14 age level, couldn’t afford the loss of its standout goalkeeper. Just like his play in the nets, Norris held firm.

“I loved our team and still loved it after a bunch of people left,” said Norris, a 6-foot-4 sophomore at Helix High, where in the winter he plays basketball for the Highlanders instead of soccer. “I loved Jeff as a coach and mentor. I just felt it was the right thing to stay.”

About half the squad remained, and now Manchester is set to compete in the U-16 division of the Surf Cup tournament Saturday. The three-day run for ages U-16 to U-18 continues through Monday at the San Diego Polo Club.

From the holdover ranks, Manchester counts the likes of Sean Connors, who made the team on his second tryout, and Jonathan O’Hara, who ascended after starting on the C level. Bailey Buckley is the one original team member from eight years back.

The team also has benefited from a transfusion of talent, led by sweeper Ernie Reyes, who joined the club during its transformation two years ago after his family moved to Poway.

“I came to this club because I heard great things about it and Jeff,” said Reyes, a junior at Poway High. “Right when I came, we started reforming.”

With the roster still thin, Reyes asked friends Richard Cervantes and Gary Kaiser to be guest players during one tourney. They subsequently stayed and became mainstays at forward.

“We all have heart,” Reyes said. “We’re all just working together on and off the field. There’s great chemistry, Obviously, we have great players here, too.”

In last year’s Surf Cup U-15 semifinals, Manchester scored two late goals for a 2-1 victory over Albion, a local squad that included former teammates.

Similarly, in the Cal South National Cup last spring, Manchester rallied for three goals in the final four minutes to claim a 4-2 victory. It reached the finals despite injuries that sidelined Norris and Reyes during the tourney.